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Mufasa
Mufasa was the father of Simba, husband of Sarabi, older brother of Scar, posthumous paternal grandfather of Kiara and Kion and formerly the king of the Pride Lands until his death. He is the one of the supporting characters in the 1994 Disney film The Lion King, it's upcoming 2019 remake and it's 2016 sequel TV series The Lion Guard ''and a minor character in its 1998 sequel ''The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and its 2004 midquel The Lion King 1½. In The Lion King: Six New Adventures books (which are non-canon to the films and TV shows), Mufasa is the son of King Ahadi and Queen Uru. He is also the grandfather of Simba and Nala's son Kopa. He was voiced by James Earl Jones in the films and The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar and Gary Anthony Williams in The Lion Guard. Films The Lion King Mufasa is first seen on Pride Rock at the presentation of his and Sarabi's newborn son Simba where he nods and smiles at Zazu and hugs Rafiki before he and Sarabi watch Rafiki raise Simba into the air for all the animals of The Pride Lands to see. Later that day, Mufasa stops Scar from eating Zazu and confronts him for not attending the presentation. Months later, Mufasa is seen asleep in Pride Rock with Sarabi and the other lionesses before being awoken by Simba whom Mufasa had promised to show The Pride Lands to. Mufasa gets up and takes Simba to the top of Pride Rock and tells him that everything the light touches is their kingdom. Simba asks about a shadowy place in the distance which Mufasa says is beyond their borders and tells Simba never to go there. Mufasa then takes Simba around The Pride Lands and talks about everything being in a delicate balance and as king, Simba needs to understand the balance and respect all creatures and says that they are all connected in the great Circle of Life. Just then Zazu arrives and gives Mufasa a morning report and whilst this is going on, Simba tries pouncing on a bug. Mufasa decides to give Simba a lesson and uses Zazu as the target. After being pounced on by Simba, Zazu meets a mole who tells him that hyenas are in The Pride Lands, which he tells Mufasa who goes to get rid of them but not before telling Zazu to take Simba home. Later, Mufasa arrives with Zazu to rescue Simba and his friend Nala from Shenzi, Banzai and Ed and sees them off, before scolding Simba for deliberately disobeying him and takes the cubs home. Upon returning to The Pride Lands, Mufasa tells Zazu to take Nala home as he's got to teach his son a lesson. After Zazu and Nala leave, Mufasa expresses his disappointment in Simba for almost getting killed, deliberately disobeying him and for putting Nala in danger. Simba replies that he was trying to be brave like him, to which Mufasa replies that he only brave when he has to be and tells Simba that being brave doesn't mean you go looking for trouble. Simba says that Mufasa is not scared of anything but Mufasa says he was today, saying that he thought he might lose Simba. Afterward, the two reconcile and have a brief play fight. Mufasa tells Simba something his own father told him, telling his son to look at the stars as The Great Kings of the Past looking down on them from there and that they will always be there to guide Simba and so will him. The next day, Mufasa is out with Zazu who notices dust rising from The Gorge pointing out that a herd is on the move which Mufasa finds odd. Just then, Scar arrives and tells Mufasa that there is a stampede in The Gorge and that Simba is down there. Mufasa, Scar and Zazu rush to The Gorge where Zazu points out Simba hanging from a tree to which Mufasa dives into amongst the wildebeest to save his son. He puts Simba on a ledge to safety but is then knock down by a wildebeest, but manages to leap onto a slope cliff and starts to climb up it where he sees Scar at the top. He asks for Scar's help, but instead of helping, Scar grabs hold of Mufasa's paws and sinks his claws into them, causing Mufasa to roar in pain. Scar then leans over the cliff and smiles evilly at his horrified brother and sinisterly says "Long Live The King" before letting go of Mufasa's paws, causing the older lion to fall off the cliff back into the stampede where he is trampled to death by the wildebeest. Mufasa's body is later found by Simba, who Scar tricks into thinking that he caused his father's death. Years later, Mufasa's ghost appears to a now young adult Simba and tells him that he must take his place in the Circle of Life and that he is his son and the one true king. Simba returns to Pride Rock and discovers that Scar killed Mufasa and battles and defeats him, avenging his father. Simba acsends Pride Rock and hears Mufasa say "Remember" before roaring triumphantly. The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride Months later, Mufasa's ghost is first shown in the opening song, "He Lives in You" watching his granddaughter Kiara's presentation. Mufasa is later seen in Simba's nightmare in which Simba tries to rescue him and stop him from falling into the gorge but is stopped by Scar. Mufasa then falls into the stampede before Scar transforms into Kovu and throws Simba into the gorge after him. He is later mentioned after Simba banishes Kovu, believing he was involved with an ambush set up by Kovu's mother Zira, where Simba tells Kiara that he knows that Kovu is following in Scar's pawprints, and that he himself must follow in Mufasa's (unaware that Mufasa wished for Kiara and Kovu to be together). Kiara tells Simba that he will never be Mufasa (suggesting that in Kiara's eyes, Mufasa would have at least heard what Kovu wanted to say before deciding whether or not to banish him, unlike Simba who exiled Kovu without giving him a chance to explain), to her father's shock. After Zira's death and the Outsiders rejoining the Pridelanders, Mufasa congratulates Simba on a job well done and says his signature line "We are one". The Lion King 1½ Mufasa makes brief appearances in the film which is set from Timon and Pumbaa's point of view. He first appears at Simba's presentation where he sees the animals bowing (due to being knocked out by Pumbaa's flatulence). Mufasa's second appearance is when he arrives at The Elephant Graveyard with Zazu to save Simba and Nala from Shenzi, Banzai and Ed and is watched by Timon and Pumbaa. His last appearance in the film is as a ghost which Timon and Pumbaa mistake for bad weather. The Lion King (2019) Mufasa appears in the live action/CGI remake of the original 1994 film. Like his original counterpart, he was also voiced by James Earl Jones. Television The Lion Guard Mufasa appears as a recurring character in the 2016 Disney Junior series The Lion Guard, which serves as a midquel to The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and focuses on Mufasa's grandson Kion, who serves as leader of the Lion Guard which protect the Pride Lands and defend the Circle of Life. Mufasa first appears in the series's 2015 pilot film The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar in a painting inside an area of Pride Rock called the Lair of the Lion Guard, which is being shown to Kion and Bunga by Simba and Rafiki. In the same scene, it is revealed that when Mufasa was younger, Scar led the Lion Guard and a ability called the Roar of the Elders and attempted to overthrow Mufasa, but this failed as his Lion Guard refused to help, resulting in Scar killing them with the Roar. This caused Scar to lose the Roar as it is not meant to be used for evil. Mufasa later appears in spirit form to Kion, who was feeling dejected after Simba scolds him for not putting lions in the Lion Guard and for treating his role as leader as a game. Mufasa tells Kion that he's about to embark on a great journey being leader of the Lion Guard, but Kion replies that he doesn't think Simba will let him lead the Lion Guard, worried that he can't handle it. Mufasa tells Kion that Simba is worried because he loves Kion and that being leader of the Lion Guard is not always easy. Kion believes that he's not ready to lead the Lion Guard or use the Roar of the Elders (as when he tried to use it again, it came out as a squeak) and doesn't want to end up like Scar, but Mufasa tells Kion to trust his instincts and that the Roar will be there when he needs it and so will he. Mufasa makes recurring appearances throughout the series mostly to give advice to Kion. In the show's second season, Mufasa discovers that Scar has returned from the dead. Although this is beyond his experience, Mufasa believes that Kion, the Lion Guard and Simba will be able to defeat Scar. In the final episode "Return to the Pride Lands", Mufasa witnesses the wedding and coronation of Kion and Rani at The Tree of Life alongside the spirits of Askari (the first leader of the Lion Guard whom Scar was named after) and Janna (Rani's grandmother and the previous Queen of the Tree of Life). Books The Lion King Six New Adventures "A Tale Of Two Brothers" In this book, which takes place some years before the events of The Lion King, Mufasa is depicted as an adolescent and is the son and heir of King Ahadi and Queen Uru. In the story, Mufasa along with his younger brother Taka and Ahadi, are patrolling the Pride Lands which is suffering from a drought, resulting in Uru leaving Pride Rock to find a water source. The three lions see a madrill named Rafiki being surrounded by three young hyenas named Shenzi, Banzai and Ed. Ahadi chastises the hyenas for attempting to hunt for sport and make them leave Rafiki alone. Mufasa strikes up a friendship with Rafiki. The animals of the Pride Lands come to Ahadi to complain about the current drought affecting them. When the King chooses to deal with the situation over taking his sons hunting, Taka expresses annoyance at this and also accuses Ahadi of favouring Mufasa over him. Later in the book, Taka attempts to make Mufasa look like a fool in an attempt to convince Ahadi to make him his heir instead. He attempts to get Mufasa to fight a cape buffalo named Boma, but this fails and it is Taka who is attacked by Boma and his herd and is slashed across his left eye by one of the buffalos horns. Fortunately, Ahadi arrives to help his sons. Rafiki tends to Taka and says that he will heal but the cut over his eye will remain. Feeling guilty for his stupidity, Taka asks to be known as Scar from then on. Afterwards, Mufasa talks with Ahadi and Rafiki and agree that a majordomo is needed and so recruit a female hornbill named Zuzu. Rafiki is also recuited as adviser. "How True Zazu?" In this book, which like "A Tale Of Two Brothers, takes place before the film, Mufasa being informed of everything happening in The Pride Lands by Zazu (who is the son and successor of Zuzu). When the other Pride Land animals become annoyed by this, they trick Zazu into giving Mufasa fake stories, causing the King to start to lose trust in him. However, Mufasa regains his trust in Zazu after he warns him of an ant attack. "The Brightest Star" On a cold winter's eve, Mufasa and Simba are on Pride Rock stargazing. Simba notices the brightest star in the sky and asks his father which Great King of the Past it is. Mufasa replies that the star is Simba's great-grandfather Mohatu, who searched for a water supply during a drought in the Pride Lands. After Mufasa finishes the story, Simba tells his father that he wished Mohatu could still be with them. Mufasa explains to his son that Mohatu still is with them, at least in spirit. He was there to remind them to respect and love one another, no matter how different they may be. Then, Mufasa proclaims that it was time to go to bed. As they leave, Simba says good-night to his great-grandfather's star, and tells him that he wanted to grow up to be just like him. Mufasa smiles proudly at his son and they head down Pride Rock. "Simba's Big Secret" Mufasa is seen with Simba who accidentally lets slip that Nala is scared of mice, to which Mufasa replies that he himself was scared of mice when he was younger. Later in the book, Mufasa goes with the pride to the Red Cliffs to look for Nala after Simba reveals that she told him that she found a secret cave there. Luckily, the pride are able to rescue Nala after she became trapped in the cave. Personality Mufasa was known for his benevolence, bravery, a tender and playful side yet stoicness and seriousness. He was respected amongst every lion in Pride Rock (except for his brother Scar, of course) but Mufasa still wasn't without his faults, for instance he exiled the hyenas to the Elephant Graveyard leaving them with very little food which shows he can be quite racist, however when Scar became King of Pride Rock and he invited the hyenas to live there, it is understandable why he would exile him. Mufasa has something of an ill temper, when confronting Scar who replies "Oh no, Mufasa. Perhaps you shouldn't turn your back on me.", It prompted the King to growl in anger. All of his faults in hand, Mufasa was a selfless and loving lion who cared about his family to the very end. Mufasa was also a massive believer in the Circle of Life and prepared his son, Simba to follow it in his paw prints. Mufasa was utterly devoted towards his son and would risk his life for him even at the cost of his own safety. He charged head-first to attack the hyenas when they were about to devour Simba and his friend, Nala. Mufasa was also able to save Simba from a stampede of wildebeest at the cost of his own life this time however. In a twist of irony however, Mufasa's love for his family also attributed to what causes his downfall and death as when he was climbing up the edge of a cliff and Scar was at the top, he begged for help only for Scar to reveal his true nature and throw him off the cliff before replacing him as King. This shows that despite being wise, Mufasa had a slight poor judge of character as he was unaware of Scar's resentment and hatred of him and Simba until it was too late and assumed that he was just arrogant. Gallery Mufasa/Gallery Trivia * Mufasa is voiced by treasured actor James Earl Jones (who also played the voice of Darth Vader) and Gary Anthony Williams. * The wildebeest scene in which Mufasa dies has been ranked in one of the most iconic and saddest moments even outside of animation. * In earlier drafts for The Lion King, Mufasa and Scar were originally unrelated with Scar being a rogue lion until it was decided that the threat should come from within the royal family. Also in earlier concept art, Mufasa was smaller than Scar. * Mufasa was originally going to sing a song called "To Be King". However the song was scrapped as it did not suit James Earl Jones' singing voice. * Before James Earl Jones was cast as Mufasa, Avery Brooks was considered for the role of Mufasa, but turned down the role due to scheduling conflicts with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. * Sean Connery and Liam Neeson were considered for the role of Mufasa. * After Simba exiles Kovu, forbidding Kiara from leaving Pride Rock un-escorted and Kiara tells Simba that he will never be Mufasa and runs away heartbroken to find him, Mufasa was supposed to appear in the sky and lecture Simba for his distrust on Kovu, arrogantly exiling him and failing to follow his paw prints and breaking the Circle of Life. * In an eary draft to The Lion King, Mufasa was originally going to die fighting Scar, who was originally going to be a rogue lion and would have been much larger than Mufasa, until it was decided that they should be brothers. In another early draft, Mufasa was to die saving Simba from a flood instead of a stampede. * Mufasa is slightly similar to Osiris from Egyptian mythology as both were kings and both are later killed by their brothers (Scar and Set) who then takeover as king. Both their deaths are later avenged by their sons (Simba and Horus). A difference between the two is that Mufasa died after Simba was born whilst Osiris died before Horus was born, but conceived him after being briefly resurrected by his wife Isis. * Mufasa is also similar to Bambi's Mother as both are a parent to the protagonist (Simba and Bambi) and both are killed by their film's antagonist at their son's young age (Mufasa was killed after Scar threw him off a cliff into the wildebeest stampede whilst Bambi's Mother died after being shot by Man). Both later appear to their son in a dream in the second film. * Mufasa is also similar to Littlefoot's Mother as both are a parent of the protagonist (Simba and Littlefoot). Both die saving their sons from a threat caused by their film's antagonist who, in turn, killed them (Mufasa died saving Simba from the stampede instigated by Scar whilst Littlefoot's Mother died saving Littlefoot and Cera from Sharptooth who killed her after biting in her back and neck). Both later appear in spirit form to their sons on their journeys. * In The Lion King comic "An Unusual Choir", Mufasa is shown to have two nephews who are the children of Simba's aunt and uncle from Sarabi's side of the family. * Though not outright mentioned, it is revealed in The Lion Guard episode "Paintings and Predictions" that Mufasa and Scar had an uncle who led the Lion Guard that saved Nala's father after he fell from a tree as a cub. 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